Baby Watch 2014

September 2014

My Status as of my apt today:

Bad news: -2/-3 station, posterior cervix

Good news: dilated a finger tip, 30% effaced... Both better than when I was induced w Kayden....

I'm 38/2 measuring 39 weeks, which is how Kayden was, too, so that doesn't concern me....

Dr is tentatively scheduling me for induction next Wednesday.... He said it was just to have the spot if he felt it was needed after he checks me next Tuesday.... He also made it a point to tell me that it was still my choice & I still have to show up & agree to it.... Nurse said it's also possible that the unit could cancel me if they are busy.... 

He plans to use a balloon to open the cervix & sweep my membranes hoping I won't need pit.... If I'm not on pit, I can labor in the tub if I choose.... if I need pit, I'm stuck near the bed....

I have been to the chiro 2x & have another apt on Thursday... Adjust/Acupuncture...

I have Jasmine EO & have been sniffing it several times a day... Pelvic tilts, squats & walking, too.... Raspberry leaf tea by the liters... 

My thoughts/feelings: I really don't want to be induced until baby has dropped, but I also trust my OB's judgement in advising me as to the best course to get my VBAC....

Wrench: he's going to be in out of town next Thursday/Friday/returning Saturday (for Rosh Hashanah) leaving me at the mercy of whoever might be on call if I go into labor while he's gone...

So, suggestions, prayers, advice would be greatly appreciated....

Perks

Gestational diabetes has it's perks... I got another ultrasound so I got to see The Bean again:

Big Girl

Kayden started Kindergarden this morning... She did great, but Mommy got emotional ;)

Family Funnies

The other night, while showering, I felt a small bump on the bottom of my belly, past the point where I can see.  I looked at it in a mirror when I got out and it looked like a small tic... Frantic, I yelled for Mike to come take a closer look... He had me lay back on the bed so he could see the spot in better light... While he was looking really close, The Bean kicked... HARD... startling Mike and making him jump about 10 feet in the air and let some interesting vocab escape his mouth.... And that was what set off my laughing jag for the evening... ;-)

(It wasn't a tic, thank God!)

*****

Over the weekend, Kayden happened upon Mike and me while he was giving me a hug:

Kayden: I want in!

(Kayden proceeds to try to wedge herself between us while Mike does his best to keep her out and I try not to laugh at her plight...)

Finally, Mike lets go and steps back, and she gives me a hug... she then turns her back to me and opens her arms for Mike to hug her between us.

Mike: It's a sandwich!

Kayden: Yeah, and I'm the ham!

And yet another giggle fest for Mama... ;-)

*****

I'm large... very large... I am past the weight I was when I went to the hospital to deliver Kayden... and I have 10 weeks to go.... I actually split one of my 2 pairs of maternity dress pants today.... Had to break out the sewing machine to fix them....

This pregnancy has been much tougher on me than Kayden was... I can tell I'm older but I'm trying my hardest to enjoy it...

30 weeks as of yesterday....

Evolution of a Shiner

(So I got a text Sunday morning from Kayden's dad.... She was with him for the weekend: 

"We had a little accident last night... Ball took a bad bounce & caught Kayden in the face..."

(Aprox 14-16 hours post injury; slight swelling/bruising to the right side of her nose/eye...)

I texted back asking if she was in pain & he said no... Not surprised... She hardly cried when she fractured her foot at just over 2 years of age....

Monday morning, my mom sends me this picture:

(Aprox 36-40 hours post injury; more swelling/more discolored... I still haven't seen her in person yet...)

I again asked if she was in pain... Nope...

I meet my mom with Kayden Monday evening at Tae Kwon Do... It's the first time I've seen her since the injury...

(Aprox 48 hours post injury...)

Now I know I'm hormonal, but I seriously had to fight back tears... Still no pain complaints.... Her first real look at herself was at TKD in their wall mirror... "I look like a monster..." Said with a smirk....

I showed one of the docs at my office & he said he wanted to see her in a few days after the swelling went down so we have an appointment this Friday afternoon....

Her dad feels horrible... We both know it was an accident but that doesn't make it any easier to look at....

Today is Tuesday:

(A bit swollen from sleep....)

And we have her kindergarten readiness testing on Wednesday.... Hope the teacher isn't too horrified...

**********

In other news, I'm 21 weeks... I feel pretty good but I can already tell this is going to be a long, hot summer.... Which is better than the sub-zero arctic weather we had this last winter... ;)

The Bean on the Screen

As far as Kayden knows, babies come from mommy's bellies. God puts them there to grow. She also knows she came out of my belly through a cut. (She's seen the scar.)

I should have known that I wouldn't be able to keep things that simple & innocent. She is too smart & asks too many questions. I wasn't prepared for the conversation that took place in the car yesterday afternoon. I totally had to wing it....

Mommy: I have an appointment tomorrow with a doctor... We are going to see a picture of The Bean on a TV screen... Do you want to come with us to see The Bean on the screen?

Kayden: I want to come!!! (Thinks for a moment...) Is it at YOUR doctors' office?

M: No, it's another kind if doctor... This doctor is Mommy's doctor while The Bean is in my tummy...

K: Oh... (Concerned) I don't want you to get another cut....

M: Mommy doesn't want another cut either... That's why I'm going to this doctor, so I don't have to have another cut...

K: Then how will The Bean get out?

M: (Draws complete blank... Is quiet for way too long trying to think how to explain this in a way she understands without freaking her out...)

K: Mommy! How is The Bean going to get out of your belly?!?!

M: Um, well, it comes out of my miss-miss (what she calls her girl parts... Not sure where she learned the term but I just went with it...)

K: (Laughs like I just told her the funniest joke ever!) Your miss-miss?!?! (Laughs even harder making Mommy laugh, too...)

M: (Think! Think! How do I steer this in a different direction?!?) How do YOU think The Bean should come out?

K: Through your mouth! (Still laughing...)

M: You think my mouth is big enough? (Laughing harder...)

K: Bigger than your miss-miss... (Good point, kid...) (Still laughing...) 

M: (Lord, PLEASE make this stop) 

K: How about your neck? Or your ear? (Still laughing...) Or your bottom!!!!

M: Well, it is kinda like pooping... (Giggle...)

K: POOPING!!!! (Laughing so hard I'm concerned she might potty herself...)

(At this point we are both laughing so hard neither of us can speak... I'm struggling to drive & am about to pull over.....)

Finally we get a hold of ourselves...

K: Yes, I want to see The Bean on the screen.... (Goes back to the book on her iPod...)

M: (Whew!!! Glad that's over...)

**********

Today we had the sonogram and everything looks perfectly normal... 

We did have to wait 3 hours, though... Doc was called to a delivery... But I was patient, knowing that he delivers all his own patients... Which means he'll be there for me when my time comes....

Kayden did great! She was restless but really well behaved considering there were 3 other little girls in the waiting room who she REALLY wanted to play with... I wouldn't let her, which proved a smart decision when one of the nurses reprimanded them for being too loud & disruptive (which they really were)....

We finally got to see Doc & I seriously like him more & more each time I see him... I really had to prep myself to choose him at all.... I'm not a fan of the only hospital he delivers in & I don't do male OB/GYNs.... But I knew he was my best bet for a VBAC & I REALLY do NOT want another C/S....

**********

19 weeks +

Peek-a-boo....

18 Months Missing

My mother pointed out that there really wasn't an introduction of my husband... so for those readers who don't actually know me personally (not sure why you're here, but welcome!), here is a synopsis of the last 18 months:

I completed my first half marathon in October 2012... my goal was 3 hours... I did it in 3:15... I'm not disappointed with that...

I got engaged to Mike in December 2012... On my Nani's birthday, December 19th, to be exact... he was sweet and nervous and romantic...

We got married on January 26th, 2013... it was a small wedding with only family and VERY close friends... 

We honeymooned on a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise... it was a great time but it was the longest I had ever been away from Kayden, so I was ready to come home...

We bought a house in June 2013... it was a very stressful, yet exciting endeavor...

(HA! But seriously, I can't find a pic of our actual house right now, so the doll house is what ya get...)
In August, I finally got hired on at an ENT practice I had been secretly stalking for several years... It's close to home and my fellow employees are great!

Fall 2013 was blissfully uneventful... except for Kayden being introduced to roller skating, with which she is now obsessed... Oh, and she started taking Tae Kwon Do...

We had a great Christmas... New Year's Eve was spent apart for the 2nd year in a row due to Mike's job.... Kayden & I had our own mini celebration at the house...

We celebrated our 1st anniversary with a weekend in St. Louis...

We learned we were expecting "The Bean" the week before our anniversary... we waited to share the news until we had a confirmed heartbeat... I'm older so the risks are higher... Kayden is super excited to be a big sister...

The late winter/early spring of 2014 has been fairly quiet... Kayden got her first pair of new skates and is so excited she could burst...

And that brings us up to today... Happy, Mom? ;-)

**********
15 weeks today...

Where's The Bean?

So, if you don't already know, Kayden is going to be a big sister. When we told her, she was sweet and inquizative... She asked how I knew there was a baby in my tummy... Then, when it was coming out...

We've been calling the baby "The Bean" for lack of something better... We don't plan to find out what the gender is, so, until a better nickname catches our fancy, "The Bean" it is.... 

In an attempt to make her more independent prior to "The Bean's" arrival, I've been encouraging Kayden do things I know she knows how to do with little or no help: dress herself, put on her shoes and socks, comb her hair, brush her teeth, etc. She would rather have Mommy help her do most of it but she's going to have to learn to do it all sooner or later... May as well be sooner... 

The other day, I was sitting on the couch. I had asked her to get her shoes on so we could leave the house... She plopped down on the floor in front of me asking me to put her shoes on for her... I made the excuse that "The Bean" was in my way & I couldn't bend over to reach her... It worked, shoes were applied, we exited the house on time to get where ever we needed to be....

Tonight, she was sitting at the table eating her dinner while I was straightening up the kitchen.... I bent over from a standing position to pick up something off the floor... Out of the blue, Kayden, clearly hesitant, yet concerned, asks, "Did The Bean come out or something?" 

Huh?!?!

"I thought you couldn't bend to reach the floor..."

I can't get anything past this kid....

Hiatus

So, is an 18 month hiatus long enough for you?

Stay tuned I'm about to start writing again....